Garrett Crochet has never met Alex Bregman, but when news broke that the former Houston Astros infielder was coming to Boston, the new Red Sox ace made a point to immediately reach out.

“Yeah, I texted him right when it went through last night,” Crochet told reporters in Fort Myers on Thursday morning. “I couldn’t be more fired up to have him joining us here.”

A two-time World Series champion, Bregman played a central role in one of the most successful runs of the past decade. Since Bregman debuted in 2016 the Astros have made the playoffs every season but his rookie year, including seven straight American League Championship Series appearances between 2017-23, three pennants and two World Series titles.

During that stretch Bregman was a two-time All-Star with a Silver Slugger, a Gold Glove and an All-Star Game MVP to his name. The soon-to-be 31-year-old is held in high regard around the game and Crochet said he’ll bring some serious gravitas to the clubhouse.

“I’ve heard a lot of good stuff about him just being an absolute baseball rat, this is a guy who loves the game, works hard and obviously his pedigree speaks for itself,” Crochet said. “He’s won a couple of World Series and the Gold Glove last year shows he’s still at the top of his game.”

Like Bregman, Crochet was one of Boston’s headline acquisitions this offseason and could potentially have a similar transformative effect on the pitching staff as Bregman might with the lineup. Alongside fellow newcomers Walker Buehler, Aroldis Chapman and others, the Red Sox now look positioned to compete for not only a playoff spot, but for an AL East title.

“It’s exciting,” Crochet said. “This is one of the best divisions in baseball and you have to have a solid team to be able to tread water, and I think we’re doing more than treading water with this acquisition.”